


Afterglow (of Battle)

by Ilovesocks_24



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: But then more cuddles and fluff, Cuddles, Derek Loves Stiles, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Stiles Loves Derek, Wee bit of angst, lots of fluff, snuggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2018-01-02 01:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilovesocks_24/pseuds/Ilovesocks_24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em> This week it's trolls. </em> </p><p>Cuddly moments with Derek and Stiles after a battle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Afterglow (of Battle)

**Author's Note:**

> Procrastination one shot, that grew legs and feels.

This week it’s trolls. 

***

“Tired?” Derek asks as he molds himself into bed beside Stiles. He tucks his nose behind Stiles’ ear and inhales deeply, relishing the scent of his mate. Stiles snuggles closer to him and Derek smiles into Stiles’ neck. 

“Shut up,” Stiles snorts, pressing his back against Derek’s broad chest and smiling slightly when Derek wraps his arms around him. His body aches all over and he really wishes Derek would do that magic pain take away thingy, but his pillow has never felt more comfortable and double for his blanket and mattress. He mentally adds writing Tempurpedic a very glowing testimony about how their mattresses _are_ just like sleeping on clouds to his to-do list. 

“The next time a band of _trolls_ mistakenly assume that Beacon Hills is sitting on a mother lode of gold, I’m going to sit the ensuing battle out.” 

“You’re the one who charged in recklessly,” Derek hums, nosing his way up and down Stiles’ neck. “You could’ve hung back and let us take care of them.” He presses his palm to Stiles stomach and gently drains some of Stiles’ pain up his arm. 

“Their leader called me a _weakling_ ,” Stiles whines, head-butting Derek lightly. “He insulted me in front of my pack. You didn’t think I was going to take that lying down did you?” 

“Not really,” Derek mutters, pressing a gentle kiss to Stiles’ nape. “But I’d prefer if you didn’t do things like that in the future. I’m planning on keeping you around for a little while longer.” 

Derek conveniently leaves out the fact that Stiles single-handedly disarmed the troll in less than ten seconds and probably would’ve killed him, if Derek hadn’t ripped the troll’s throat out at the last minute. Stiles can handle himself, Derek knows that. It never stops him from playing Big Bad Rescue Werewolf every now and then. (Stiles never complains about Derek stealing his kills, either)

Instead Derek rests his forehead against Stiles’ head and pulls Stiles closer to him, tucking his chin in the nook between Stiles’ head and shoulders. He closes his eyes and listens to the steady beating of Stiles’ heart. To him, it’s the most comforting noise in the world. 

“I’m going to pretend that what you just said was way more romantic than it sounded,” Stiles says, rolling his eyes. He grins when Derek nips his neck in response. 

“I guess I’ll take what I can get,” Stiles says, smiling when Derek growls good-naturedly. 

***

They stay in bed together for about an hour, basking in the glow of the moon. Ordinarily, Stiles’ mind would be running a million miles a minute, but he’s always more relaxed whenever he’s in bed like this with Derek. He never stops thinking, but all of his thoughts are about Derek. 

If Stiles is honest with himself, these are his favorite moments with Derek. Sure the sex is great (fantastic, really), and the weekly family dinners with the Sheriff are getting less and less awkward over time (read, Stiles is finally letting his dad eat all-beef hamburgers and John stops keeping his new supply of wolfsbane bullets at the dinner table), but Stiles enjoys these moments with Derek the most, cuddled together under a blanket. 

This is a softer side of Derek that Stiles rarely gets to see. Derek isn’t really one for PDA’s, preferring to grunt at Stiles rather than kiss him first thing in the morning. And though Stiles’ never doubts that Derek loves him, sometimes all he really wants to do is make out with Derek on a park bench while they feed the ducks or something. (One time they made out during a pack outing at laser tag, but Stiles didn’t count that one because it was dark and they had hid behind a pillar so no one could see them.) 

Stiles never pushes Derek out of his comfort zone, settling for quick kisses here and there, but now, in the comfortable silence, is when Derek is at his most affectionate. There’s something about coming home safe from a battle that seems to bring out Derek’s latent affectionate side.

Derek tries being affectionate in public, he really does. It’s not his fault that everyone he deals with on a daily basis doesn’t make his heart skip a beat like Stiles does. Sometimes Derek can hardly believe that Stiles is with him. For someone as smart and perfect as Stiles is to even think about dating someone as emotionally stunted as Derek. So Derek relishes times like this, when Stiles is close and Stiles is his.

It’s times like this when Derek lightly traces along Stiles’ moles with his fingers, where he gently noses along Stiles’ neck, nipping here and there and rubbing his cheek against Stiles’ exposed skin. Derek takes special care, making sure Stiles is covered with his scent so that every werewolf within a hundred mile radius knows who Stiles belongs to.

It’s times like this where Derek whispers gentle praises into Stiles’ ear. 

“Good job.” 

“I’m proud of you.” 

“ _I love you._ ” 

And Stiles always swells a little more with each compliment. 

***

Sometimes Derek hums. He doesn’t know why, he just does. It just comes out of him. He never hums a specific tune (one time he absentmindedly hummed California Gurls, and Stiles teased him for a week) he just hums. 

Stiles tries to hum along with Derek, but since Derek doesn’t exactly know what he’s humming, Stiles can’t really hum along. It makes for really awkward harmonies and will usually end with Stiles muffling his laughter against Derek’s chest. 

***

Stiles is in awe of Derek’s body. He gets that Derek is a werewolf, but damn. It doesn’t hurt that he puts in extra time doing push-ups and chin-ups around the house. He’s in awe of how strong Derek is, how he makes such superhuman feats look simple. (Stiles still hasn’t gotten over the time when Derek bench pressed the entire pack)

Sometimes, when there’s a lull in the conversation, Stiles traces the lines of Derek’s upper body, marveling how this same body can be so aggressive in battle, but so gentle in moments like this. He runs his fingers along the inner line of Derek’s chest. He lightly brushes his fingers along Derek’s abs and tries to tickle his belly button. (Derek’s not ticklish, but Stiles tries anyway) 

Stiles wriggles around and pulls Derek’s arm around him, so he can explore his arms. Stiles always traces the curve of Derek’s bicep, down to his forearms until he reaches Derek’s hands. He loves Derek’s hands. They’re strong, yet gentle at the same time. He runs his fingers along the blunt edges of Derek’s fingernails, picturing the claws that can pop out at will. 

(When Stiles was little, his mom said that he would know his soul mate when he held their hand. Stiles’ and Derek’s hands fit perfectly together.)

Derek usually lies back and watches Stiles explore his body. He knows he’s strong and he knows that Stiles appreciates his body, and he’s glad about that. But personally, Derek thinks Stiles is stronger than he is. Stiles has no special skills, no enhanced senses or reflexes, but he still charges head-first into battle. It used to drive Derek crazy, but now Derek trusts Stiles enough to let him roam free during battles. Of course, Derek always has a watchful eye on him, (Stiles is his mate after all) but during battles, Derek is actually more nervous for Scott’s well being than he is for Stiles’. 

Sometimes, when it’s not a life-threatening battle, Derek will watch the way Stiles’ lithe frame dances about the battlefield. His movements are graceful and fluid and he often catches their enemies off guard, and they pay the price for it. Derek will never forget the look on the vampire’s face when Stiles shoved the stake through his chest. 

Derek watches as Stiles plays with his hands, opening and closing his palms slowly, until he can’t take it anymore. He knows he strong, and he knows Stiles knows he’s strong. That never stops Derek from tugging Stiles up by his chin and kissing him until he feels weak. 

***

Derek’s a huge fan of spooning. He loves being the big spoon, loves feeling Stiles’ smaller body pressed against his own. Derek likes being able to wrap his arms around Stiles. Maybe it’s the alpha in him, but when Stiles is wrapped in his arms, Derek feels like everything is going to be okay. He can protect Stiles from all the things that go bump in the night. (Derek supposes that technically he goes bump in the night, but that’s a story for another day.)

Stiles, on the other hand, likes to lie next on the bed next to Derek, pillowing his head on Derek’s chest. Stiles gets that Derek feels like he’s protecting him when they spoon, but Stiles can protect himself. (His kill count would be higher than Scott’s if Derek would stop stealing his kills. Good thing there isn’t an all-time kill count like there is in COD; otherwise he would rage-quit every time Derek took one of his kills)  
When Stiles lies next to Derek he feels a little more equal. He is Derek’s mate after all. 

Derek always whines when Stiles squirms and rolls him over so he’s lying on his back. They always spoon first, so Derek knows what’s coming. Stiles also know that Derek loves this sleeping arrangement too, he just loves to spoon more. 

“We already spooned, Sourwolf, now it’s my turn,” Stiles says, resting his hand on the right side of Derek’s chest. Stiles always put his head on the left side of Derek’s chest, directly over his heart. He doesn’t have werewolf hearing, but he’s still comforted by Derek’s heartbeat. (He just has to be a little closer to hear it)

Derek huffs and rolls his eyes, but brings one hand up and rests it over Stiles’ hand, lacing their fingers together. He brings their conjoined hands up to his mouth and presses a gentle kiss to Stiles’ knuckles before resting them back on his chest. He wraps his free arm around Stiles’ body, pulling him closer to him. If he can’t spoon with Stiles, this is the next best thing. 

“When do you think things will stop coming to Beacon Hills?” Stiles asks quietly. “I mean, I enjoy fighting trolls as much as the next guy, but this is the third week in a row we’ve had some sort of supernatural threat.” 

“What were the last two?” Derek asks. 

“Well we just dealt with the trolls, but last week it was the coven of vampires, and the week before it was the Yeti, who I am still curious as to how it ended up in Beacon Hills.” 

“Oh, right,” Derek says quietly.

“You don’t remember?” Stiles asks. 

“Not really,” Derek says. 

Except Derek really doesn’t remember. As soon as he gets into bed with Stiles, all of his problems go away. 

“Weirdo,” Stiles says, pressing a kiss to Derek’s chest. He grins when Derek pinches his side. 

***

“My mom would’ve liked you,” Stiles says. 

He says this after every battle. It’s his way of telling himself that Derek is alive and still with him, instead of—actually Stiles doesn’t like to think about what could’ve been. What’s important is that Derek is here now. 

“Tell me about her.” 

“She loved baking,” Stiles says quietly. “I think we had some sort of cake or cookie every week. We were actually that family with a cookie jar. But she always put it on top of the fridge, because she knew I couldn’t reach.”

Derek chuckles, picturing a tinier version of Stiles with a chair and a stack of phone books, standing on his tip-toes struggling to reach the jar of cookies. 

“And she was always smiling,” Stiles continues. “Even during the last few months, when she had more tubes than hair, she was always smiling.” 

“She’s proud of you,” Derek says. He smiles slightly when Stiles’ eyes light up. He’s always careful not to say ‘would’ve been proud of you.’ Because Derek knows that Claudia is looking down on them. He knows she is proud of Stiles. Derek just hopes he has her blessing. 

“I know,” Stiles says, pressing another kiss to Derek’s chest. He’s quiet for a moment. “Your family is proud of you too,” he says finally, and Derek’s heart swells. 

Stiles watches as Derek’s throat tightens and he feels Derek’s chest rise and fall as he takes a deep breath. 

“I wish I could’ve met them,” he says. 

“I wish you could’ve met them too,” Derek says quietly. “You would’ve fit in perfectly, I’m sure of it. They would’ve loved you.” 

They don’t talk much about families. They dwell on anniversaries of fires and deaths, but not now. Now they cuddle and are grateful that they are both still alive for one more day.

***

Oddly enough, they rarely have sex after battles. For one, they’re usually exhausted and Stiles generally doesn't like to have sex after he and/or Derek have killed something. 

On the rare occasions that they do have sex, it’s slow and very sensual. It’s filled with eye contact and gentle caresses. Stiles will make small, breathy moans and Derek will bite the corner of his lip as he makes love to his mate. 

When they’re finished, Derek will reach into the bedside table, grab a towel and clean them both up. They can shower in the morning.

***

This week the trolls weren’t that difficult to dispose of, but sometimes, especially after a big battle, Scott and Isaac will trickle into their room and cuddle with them. Isaac wants to be closer to Derek (the alpha-beta bond) and Scott rarely lets Isaac out of his sight (the boyfriend-boyfriend bond) 

Stiles likes whenever this happens; Scott is still his best friend and Isaac is hands-down his favorite beta, so sharing a bed with them isn’t really a problem. Derek doesn’t mind sharing a bed with Isaac, but it’s still a little weird sharing a bed with Scott. (Derek would actually rather share a bed with just Stiles, but he can compromise.) 

Isaac loves burrowing into Derek’s other side, placing his head on the right side of Derek’s chest. (He can hear Derek’s heartbeat just fine) Stiles will always run his fingers through Isaac’s curls and Isaac will always rumble happily in the back of his throat. 

Isaac’s movement is always a little restricted since Scott is generally wrapped around him like an octopus. Scott is incredibly direct about his love for Isaac. (Derek doesn’t really remember what Isaac actually smells like, because he’s always covered in Scott’s scent.) Scott will tuck his nose into Isaac’s curls, and sometimes his nose and Stiles’ hand will touch when they’re both exploring Isaac’s curls. It’s their modified version of a bro-touch for situations like this. (Stiles doesn’t really have free range of movement with his hands, and Scott pretty much refuses to unwrap himself from around Isaac) 

Sometimes the four of them will fall asleep together, cuddled together on the bed. But more often than not, Stiles and/or Isaac will pick up on their mate’s unspoken desires to get them alone. Usually Scott will whine low in his throat or Derek will start to pull Stiles even tighter to his body. Isaac and Scott will leave with quiet goodnights and requests for pancakes for breakfast the next morning. (Scott actually prefers waffles, but he supposes he can compromise for Isaac) 

***

When Stiles falls asleep first, Derek plays connect the dots with Stiles’ moles. (It’s more fun when Stiles isn’t wearing a shirt, which is more often than not) He memorizes the imaginary lines he draws and traces animals, shapes and patterns into Stiles’ skin. Stiles is a heavy sleeper, so Derek never has to worry about waking him up. 

Sometimes he presses kisses along Stiles’ skin. When they fall asleep spooning, he presses kisses up and down Stiles’ back and neck. When Stiles falls asleep on Derek’s chest, he presses kisses to his forehead and hairline. 

Derek loves watching Stiles sleep. He’s beautiful. (Stiles is always beautiful to Derek, but sleeping Stiles makes Derek’s heart melt) Absent of its usual sarcastic smile, Stiles’ face is eerily calm. But Derek likes it though. Stiles’ mouth is usually slightly parted and his breath whistles as he exhales. Sometimes he tries to match his breathing with Stiles’ own. It makes him feel closer to Stiles. 

“I love you,” Derek says softly. He knows Stiles can’t hear him, but he says it anyway. 

When Derek falls asleep first, Stiles will lightly run his fingers along Derek’s skin. Derek’s a bit of a light sleeper, so Stiles plays a game with himself; how lightly can he touch Derek until he wakes up. He loses when Derek wakes up and sleepily kisses him until he falls back asleep. (Stiles doesn’t mind losing that much)

It took a little while for Derek to fall asleep around Stiles. Stiles knows that Derek still has deep trust issues, so he considers it an honor that Derek trusts him enough to fall asleep with him. 

Sometimes Derek has nightmares, and Stiles can only imagine how terrible they are. Based on the way Derek shivers and mutters in his sleep, Stiles assumes they’re not good. However, Stiles never wakes him up. Instead he burrows as close as he can to Derek and whispers comforting words into his ear. 

“It’s okay.” 

“You’re safe.” 

“It’s not real.” 

Sometimes Derek wakes up and sometimes he calms down in his sleep. Stiles kisses him either way. 

“ _I love you_ ,” he whispers, a promise to keep the nightmares away. 

***

When they’re both asleep is when the magic happens. They both subconsciously snuggle closer together, as if drawn to each other. Stiles will scoot closer to Derek if he gets too far away, and Derek will roll over to make sure it doesn’t happen again. They fall asleep like koalas, wrapped around each other, like they’re afraid the other will somehow disappear in the night. 

They wake up rejuvenated and refreshed, ready for another day. There are morning kisses and morning cuddles. They don’t talk about the battle last night, it’s in the past and that’s where it will stay.

***

This week it was trolls. Last week was vampires. Next week might be faeries or kelpies or the fucking Chupacabra, neither of them know. What they do know is that they love each other, and after the battle they’ll end up right back in the same place. In their bed, arms wrapped around each other, right where they belong.


End file.
